Elaha Soroor, Afghanistan’s Rising Star

The first time Elaha Soroor captivated audiences was on Afghan Star, Afghanistan’s version of American Idol.  She was the first female contender on the show to make it to the top eight, and although she did not end up wining the competition, it was enough to earn Elaha an enormous amount of love and support from music lovers and devoted fans around the world. 

As a leading promoter of Afghan culture and entertainment, TriVision Studios is proud to announce their partnership with Elaha as her exclusive management and publicity agency. TriVision has developed and launched a website for the young singer, songwriter and composer (www.elahamusic.com) and plans to continue helping Elaha follow her journey to musical success.

Born in 1988, Elaha started down an artistic path at an early age. Her artistic talents, combined with her passionate dedication and enthusiasm, helped her accomplish achievements in theatre, narration, drawing and music. She worked at the Sun Theatre Group for about eight months, during which she formed a band called The Muse. Later, Elaha wrote a documentary about the mistreatment of women in a Kunduz prison, entitled “Prison of Women”, which won her the “Best Reporting Award” at the BBC journalistic workshop.

Amidst her many artistic activities, Elaha found music had the highest emotional impact on her. She realized music was what truly reflected the voice of the oppressed Afghan women who have suffered so much in the patriarchal society of Afghanistan. This realization led Elaha to the decision to train professionally in music, and soon after she started attending the Kabul Institute of Music.

Although her participation in Afghan Star brought Elaha great artistic recognition, it also caused her many social problems. Despite many obstacles, Elaha has bravely and devotedly pursued her career in music. For Elaha, music is not just a hobby or a path to fame but more about striving for perfection. “I am at the beginning of an infinite path but until we see the reflection of women’s voice in Afghan society, we have a long way to go,” Elaha commented.

Elaha’s latest work in music is an album titled Stoning, coming out later this year. To watch Elaha in her first music video, Bay Bahanna, please click on the thumbnail to the left. To read more about Elaha and her musical journey, visit her official website www.elahamusic.com, designed by TriVision Studios.

Celebrating 25 Years of .com with President Bill Clinton

On March 16, 2010, TriVision Studios had the opportunity to provide HD video production for the Policy Impact Forum featuring keynote speakers, Former President Bill Clinton and CNN’s Dr. Fareed Zakaria. In addition, TriVision also provided same-day on-site editing and file transfer to various TV stations. Hosted by VeriSign, the forum was held at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, DC as part of a larger industry-wide campaign recognizing 25 years of Internet innovation. 

In recognition of the first .com domain name, registered in March 1985, more than 300 attendees participated consisting of .com stakeholders, which included internet luminaries, online businesses, policymakers and more. The focus of the event was to examine how far the consumer internet has come and what opportunities and challenges lay ahead for the future of the .com domain.

Former President Clinton headlined the high-profile series of speakers and panelists. Clinton’s speech described the challenge of globalization in a .com world and people’s growing interdependence on one another. Closing out the day, Dr. Fareed Zakaria offered an outlook on the next 25 years of .com and its impact on the global economy.

To read more about the .com 25th anniversary, please visit www.25yearsof.com.

ACS, the Carpet People of Choice in the DC Area

Since 1952, Ayoub Carpet Service (ACS) has served the Washington DC Metropolitan area in carpet and oriental rug cleaning and repairs. Today, with its 16,000 sq. ft. facility located in Chantilly, Virginia, ACS is among the most modern rug cleaning and repair facilities in the region and serves as a central location for wall-to-all cleaning. The company offers services for residential and commercial buildings, restaurants, hotels, realtors, and government agencies.

Often called the “Carpet and Rug People”, for three decades the Ayoub name achieved a high level of recognition in the DC area for their commitment to fine rug care.  After expanding the family business in the 1990’s, Daniel Ayoub started ACS Carpet Care, which has earned top ratings in Consumers’ Checkbook Magazine and recommendations from Washingtonian Magazine.

TriVision Studios has provided design and advertising services for the rug care company since 2009. From creating magazine ads to email blasts, the TriVision staff works diligently with ACS to design ads that help foster business and bring in customers.  In addition, TriVision has generated banners, postcards, posters and other marketing collaterals.

For more information about ACS and to learn how you can utilize their carpet and rug cleaning services for your needs, please visit their website at www.rugcare.com. To see how TriVision Studios can help your company's advertising needs, please contact us at 1.888.600.5528 or email design@trivision.tv.

Meet the Fastest Growing Website

by Christopher Steiner,
Published on August 12, 2010
Forbes.com

Andrew Mason figured out how to inject hysteria into the process of bargain hunting on the Web. The result is an overnight success story called Groupon.

At least Mark Zuckerberg wrote a few lines of computer code at Harvard before he left to launch Facebook. Now Andrew Mason, a relaxed and lanky 29-year-old music major from Northwestern, has managed to build the fastest-growing company in Web history. Groupon represents what the dot-com boom was supposed to be all about: huge sales, easy profits and solid connection between bricks-and-mortar retailers and online consumers.

Groupon, a name that blends "group" and "coupon," presents an online audience with deep discounts on a product or service. Act now, says the pitch: You have only so many hours before this offer expires. That's a familiar come-on, but it's coupled with a novel element: You get the deal only if a certain number of fellow citizens buy the same thing on the same day. It's a cents-off coupon married to a Friday-after-Thanksgiving shopping frenzy.

What's in it for the vendor--which might be a museum, a yoga studio or an ice cream shop? Exposure. Since the resulting revenue is not only discounted but shared (typically, 50/50) with Groupon, the vendor may scarcely break even on the incremental sales. But it now has customers who might never have thought of patronizing the business. Groupon gets its offers in front of eyeballs by buying ad space through Google and Facebook and via the word of mouth of its 13 million subscribers.

Unlike so many dot-com rockets, Groupon is a real business. Occupying 85,000 square feet inside a rehabbed eight-story former Montgomery Ward warehouse in Chicago's River North neighborhood, the company is on track to pass $500 million in revenue this year, according to a report Morgan Stanley put together to win some underwriting business. No technology stalwart--including Ebay, Amazon.com, Yahoo, AOL and Google--grew that big that fast. At just 17 months old this April Groupon boasted a $1.35 billion valuation when it raised $135 million, the biggest chunk of it from Digital Sky Technologies, the curious Moscow investment fund behind Facebook and Zynga. (Mason will not disclose his stake, which he says is less than 50%.) The only company to reach a $1 billion valuation faster was YouTube (now part of Google), founded in 2005 and still waiting to turn its first profit. Groupon broke into the black just seven months after inception.

Mason's model is transforming the way companies--especially smaller ones with limited marketing budgets--snag sales. In May Groupon sold 6,561 tickets to a King Tut exhibit in New York's Times Square for $18 apiece, little more than half the list price. The campaign brought in $120,000 at virtually no marginal cost to the exhibit; Groupon pocketed about 50% for a day's effort. The most popular item so far: a $25 ticket for a Chicago architectural boat tour sold for $12. In May Groupon moved 19,822 tickets in eight hours and split the $238,000 with the tour operator.

Groupon has charged into 88 U.S. cities and 22 countries, including Turkey and Chile. Hundreds of rivals, some with deep pockets, are springing up. With turf wars brewing from New York to Brazil, Mason has armed himself with 250 salespeople and 70 writers, many plucked from the Chicago improv scene, to concoct witty pitches for deals. "We want to do for local e-commerce what Amazon did for normal consumer goods," he boasts.

Story courtesy of Forbes.com, Published on August 12, 2010.

The Top Five Brands on Facebook

Users 'Like' Brands to Get Access to Deals
By Matt Carmichael, Adage.com,
Published on August 25, 2010

What are Facebook fans looking for when they "like" a brand page? According to new research from ExactTarget and CoTweet, it's pretty simple: coupons and free stuff.

40% of those surveyed said that was a motivator for "liking" a company, 36% said they wanted to get freebies and 30% wanted updates on upcoming sales. 39% also want to show their support for a brand, but here's a key stat: Only 17% are more likely to buy something after "liking" the brand, so it sure sounds like it's a good tool to reach your existing customers but isn't doing much -- yet at least -- to grow a customer base.

Interestingly the survey participants who join Facebook looking for shopping tips are most likely to be able to name brands who are marketing well whereas those who are more interested in social networking have a hard time even naming good examples.
The five best brands at engaging users on Facebook, according to the survey, are:

1. Oreo (Nabisco)
2. Walmart
3. Victoria's Secret
4. iTunes
5. Dove

Also, for marketers who want to get in front of Facebook fans, try the off hours. According to the research, "In total, 65% of Facebook users say they login only before or after work/school and 69% use Facebook on the weekends or days off."